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A magical weekend for the U15 AAA Carillon Sultans was capped off by the team battling their way to the top of the mountain, claiming the provincial championship.
"It's a good feeling," coach Clint Brandt says of becoming a champion. "Winning never get's old, it's a lot of fun."
Brandt says this group was special right from the start. "It was just a really good team in terms of a group of kids who were very cohesive. A group of kids that were always pulling for each other, and encouraging each other. Obviously, very talented, too, but I feel that camaraderie was a big part of our success."
Building a AAA team usually brings players from all over, so the fact the group bonded as quick as they did, meant a lot to Brandt. "It was a lot of fun. We got five returning players, who last year were part of a really cohesive group, and they experienced good leaders last year, and it showed them how they should treat the younger or new guys this year. It just rolled over one year to the next, that culture carried over. A lot of these kids know each other, they've played together before on other teams, but a few guys were new, and I felt like the new guys were welcomed in very quickly."
Looking back at how his team performed on the diamond, there are a few areas that stand out to Brandt where the team really took positive strides leading to wins. "I think if you look at the final, we had 18 hits," the coach says with a chuckle. "So, hitting all the way through the lineup. We had stretches of that during the year, and just kept getting better, and better, and better. Yes, there were some ups and downs, but the hitting was always strong. We also had some pitchers rise up this weekend, some of our depth arms threw great games, and that gave us a chance to win."
Provincials are a grind, it's a lot of ball in a short amount of time, and Brandt says for this group, it shows not just how talented they are, but how mentally tough they are. "That is something that we need to give credit to the kids for. They stayed in control of their emotions. So, we were trailing in our first game, everybody was calm and focused, we had a big inning to go up. Second game was tight all the way through, but nobody seemed to be nervous. Third game, which was important for us to win, we got a big lead, but South Central creeping back, and creeping back, and it came to a point where they had the go-ahead run on base, but we got that last out in a big pressure moment. Really proud of that resilience and composure that the kids showed."
After the final out was recorded, Brandt made sure to take a moment and soak in the team celebration. "It's a lot of fun watching the kids hugging each other, and celebrating a moment they'll never forget. These kids will be bonded together for the rest of their lives. They're going to remember this weekend, and it was a lot of fun to watch that."
The U15 age group is very important, not just for fostering love of the game at this level, but that these players are the future of the Carillon programs, something Brandt is aware of. "I hope that all the kids have grown to love the sport even more, as a result of this season. I hope they come back and play next year. There's a lot of kids in this group that have a lot of potential, where if they choose to pursue college baseball or something like that, there's opportunities for them. I'm very excited for the future."
Clint Brandt and the U15 AAA Sultans will enjoy some well deserved time to celebrate winning a provincial championship.